Kaynat Tassawar Qureshi

Kaynat Tassawar Qureshi

undergraduate criminal justice student

Hometown: Rawalpindi, Pakistan

High School: Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts

I am strong. I am outgoing. I am confident.

When I am not a student, I am a friend, mentor and a hard worker. My plate is full: I am a full-time student, I work full-time and I am an older sister to my younger siblings. My passion is fighting for justice. I am studying criminal justice at the University of Baltimore, and I have learned so much. In one of my classes, I learned about the Innocence Project in New York that exonerates the wrongly-convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustices. Learning about this project has fueled my passion to become a lawyer and inspired me to want to help individuals who are wrongfully convicted.

My passion is fighting for justice.

I recently interned at the Department of Juvenile Services in Baltimore City. There, I worked with juveniles who were wrongly convicted. Many of the youth that I worked with had unstable backgrounds and came from broken homes and families. Being able to help this population any way I possibly can is what drives me. My hope is to change someone’s life. Whether it is a small change or a big change. My fear is failing. Even though it is a learning process, you should fail once and get right back up. I’ve learned that if things are not going the way I want them to go right now, they eventually will work out for the better.